McCullers To Fans: Don't Panic

INDIANAPOLIS – Mark McCullers has a message to fans wondering why the Crew seems
to be failing to replace players who have left: don't panic.

Speaking inside the Indiana Convention Center after the MLS SuperDraft, where the Crew picked
Notre Dame forward Ryan Finley and Denver defender Drew Beckie, McCullers said further,
more-impactful moves are on the horizon.

“I’m not in a panic,” he said. “I feel good about what we have, and we’ve got to close things
up. Anything can happen in this business. I don’t take anything for granted, but for this
particular year there were some things that delayed action on some other things we were planning on
doing.”

Since the season ended, the Crew has parted ways with 11 players from last year’s roster, added
two rookies and one league veteran and re-signed two players leading up to the draft. In addition,
a source has told
The Dispatch that midfielder Milovan Mirosevic will not be returning, although McCullers
said, “As far as I know, he’s going to be back. We’re focused on the task at hand here today. I
haven’t talked to him. I’ve heard the reports, so we’ll get that sorted out.”

As the team’s president and general manager explained the situation, personnel matters have been
unexpectedly delayed throughout the offseason. Each holdup has then impacted the next deal,
creating somewhat of a snowball effect.

Technical director Brian Bliss has said the Crew is close to signing two players, one of whom is
known to be an international defender. Today, McCullers said there are more than two players who
are close to deals with the Crew, some of whom are simply waiting on technical details to be
resolved.

“I hope to be able to make an announcement very soon,” McCullers said. “It’s paperwork and I’m
confident that we’re going to make an announcement very soon certainly on one of them. The others
are coming along. I feel pretty good right now. I know we still have some open holes in the roster
and that’s creating some anxiety among our fans but I’m confident that we’re going to get things
done and that when the fans see what we have they’re going to say, ‘OK, I see.’ ”

McCullers said the majority of the players involved are defenders but confirmed there is at
least one midfielder in the mix.

The Crew has been shopping midfielder Dilly Duka since the season ended, and it appears close on
a deal with Chicago that would bring forward/midfielder Dominic Oduro and allocation money in
return. The trade was not finalized today but could be within the next 48 hours. Although Crew
players began reporting today, Duka is not likely to report unless a deal completely falls
through.

Asked about Oduro, McCullers said, “I like Dominic Oduro. He’s a proven goal-scorer in this
league. He’s somebody that I respect as a player.”

One player who does not seem to figure into the Crew’s plans is Robbie Rogers, the team’s former
midfielder who mutually agreed to part ways with Leeds United earlier this week. The Crew control
Rogers’ MLS rights should he return to the league, but McCullers said it is unlikely he will be
suiting up for the club.

“We do hold his rights, but right now I don’t think we see him on our roster,” he said. “Maybe
other teams are interested in his rights, so we have an asset that we could potentially use in a
trade. Right now, he’s not in our plans but never say never.”